Newbie Needs Help

[sumpnsfishee]

Hello, I am hoping to get some advice on my Betta. I have had Edward for about 10 weeks. I started with a small bowl and stones. I couldn't stand seeing him in there so I opted for a tank. 10 gal. w/ filter. He has been in there for about two weeks. Almost immediately he was acting very strange and laying on the bottom or hovering around the filter vertically. After much research, I figured out that I was supposed to baffle the filter, I did. I also found out that he needed a heater, which I bought and set up. It took a little time but he seemed to do better. Someone suggested I do a 50% water change, I did that. He's eating and looking great now, but the tank is milky; cloudy. I have heard about "cycling" the tank, but now I see there is more to it. I need to get a testing kit and more chemicals. I only have a water conditioner that I add when I do a partial change. Until I can get the chemicals and the test kit, should I do a 50% change daily or is that too much? Please help, I started out with a fish in a bowl and I can't believe how much time and effort and money I have invested. I love Edward and hate to see him stressed. I have obviously not had a tank or know much about them, but I want to expand and learn. When I have these issues resolved, I want to add a cat or an algae eater, would that be alright?

S

 

[Mom of MnE]

water changes daily would be good and if its kinda cloudy its a bacteria bloom and not the good bacteria....

 

[The_Betta_Lady]

Yes you need to do the changes very regular until the water settles, as milky water is not good. Once your water is staying at the right levels then you can look at adding other fish but not lots at once. Bottom dwellers like plecs and corys are fine in a tank with your betta.

 

[sumpnsfishee]

Thank you very much. I am going to do the 50% change as often as nec. prob every day but will that harm the cycle? I plan on getting the test kit next week I have to hold off for a bit. I think the bloom is from feeding when Edward had stopped eating for a few days and I didn't know to remove the food after 5 min but I do now. So much to learn, and I thought I was just getting a fish I wanted to start small but plan on bigger aq's maybe even a sorority of betta girls. Anyway, I need to get this prob solved first.

 

[Whisper]

Thank you very much. I am going to do the 50% change as often as nec. prob every day but will that harm the cycle? I plan on getting the test kit next week I have to hold off for a bit. I think the bloom is from feeding when Edward had stopped eating for a few days and I didn't know to remove the food after 5 min but I do now. So much to learn, and I thought I was just getting a fish I wanted to start small but plan on bigger aq's maybe even a sorority of betta girls. Anyway, I need to get this prob solved first.

No. The 50% water changes will not harm the cycling but just add the new water very slowly. Like maybe 20% of the new water every 30 minutes. This will help decrease any stress that could be caused by a ph or temperature mismatch between the new and existing tank water.

The Betta can handle the cloudy ammonia in the tank during the cycling process so long as you continue with the daily water changes to prevent the Ammonia and Nitrite levels from getting dangerously high for him. Also, don't change any of the filter medium for a few months. That will hold lots of good beneficial bacteria that eat the Ammonia and nitrite while your tank is cycling. All cycling really is, is giving the tank time to build up a sufficient amount of beneficial bacteria that can absorb the amount of ammonia and nitrites created from the fish waste and uneaten foods. The levels of ammonia and nitrites generated are dictated by the fish population (quantity) in the tank. So less fish is best to start for a few months. The cloudyness should be clear in a week though and often sooner with only one fish in the tank.